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Books > Biography > Film, television, music, theatre
In 'Pom-Poms Up , From Puberty to the Pythons and beyond, the
British born, American raised and RADA trained actress reveals her
life, loves and laughs as the 'Glamorous PYTHON GIRL' who famously
kept her cool and a straight face in the heat of the humour
generated by Cleese, Palin, Jones, Gilliam and the late Chapman,
The 'MONTY' Pythons.
Elia Kazan's varied life and career is related here in his
autobiography. He reveals his working relationships with his many
collabourators, including Harold Clurman, Lee Strasberg, Clifford
Odets, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon
Brando, James Dean, John Steinbeck and Darryl Zanuck, and describes
his directing "style" as he sees it, in terms of position,
movement, pace, rhythm and his own limitations. Kazan also retraces
his own decision to inform for the House Un-American Activities
Committee, illuminating much of what may be obscured in McCarthy
literature.
On 2 January 2013, just a day before Jim Davidson was due to enter
the Celebrity Big Brother house, he found himself behind far more
serious locked doors when he was arrested by the Yewtree detectives
over alleged sex offences. Twelve months later, the public voted to
crown Jim Davidson as the winner of the latest series of Celebrity
Big Brother. Finally, with all charges dropped and no further
action being taken, and with the public offering him their staunch
support, Jim can finally look back on his year from hell. Facing a
series of damaging false allegations, Jim was forced to fight, not
just for his reputation and his career, but for his freedom too.
Mounting legal costs and a deepening sense of injustice saw Jim
sink to the lowest point of his career as the Yewtree investigation
threatened to ruin him both financially and emotionally. Finally,
after months of pain came the words he and his supporters had been
waiting to hear: No Further Action. Now, with the public's
approval, Jim reflects on this painful period with the regular dose
of wit and humour that have made him so successful. Searingly
honest, No Further Action pays tribute to those who stood by him
and takes a wry look at what life is like under investigation in
the public eye.
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Female Force
- Selena
(Hardcover)
Michael Frizell; Contributions by Ramon Salas; Cover design or artwork by Dave Ryan
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R528
Discovery Miles 5 280
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Ships in 18 - 22 working days
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Saxophone virtuoso Charlie "Bird" Parker began playing
professionally in his early teens, became a heroin addict at 16,
changed the course of music, and then died when only 34 years old.
His friend Robert Reisner observed, "Parker, in the brief span of
his life, crowded more living into it than any other human being."
Like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and John
Coltrane, he was a transitional composer and improviser who ushered
in a new era of jazz by pioneering bebop and influenced subsequent
generations of musicians. Meticulously researched and written,
Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker tells the story of his
life, music, and career. This new biography artfully weaves
together firsthand accounts from those who knew him with new
information about his life and career to create a compelling
narrative portrait of a tragic genius. While other books about
Parker have focused primarily on his music and recordings, this
portrait reveals the troubled man behind the music, illustrating
how his addictions and struggles with mental health affected his
life and career. He was alternatively generous and miserly; a
loving husband and father at home but an incorrigible philanderer
on the road; and a chronic addict who lectured younger musicians
about the dangers of drugs. Above all he was a musician, who
overcame humiliation, disappointment, and a life-threatening car
wreck to take wing as Bird, a brilliant improviser and composer.
With in-depth research into previously overlooked sources and
illustrated with several never-before-seen images, Bird: The Life
and Music of Charlie Parker corrects much of the misinformation and
myth about one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth
century.
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